Fed Keeps Pedal On Gas; Markets Hit Records

In this Wednesday, July 17, 2013, file photo, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke taps the microphone, as he testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

(Newser)
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The Federal Reserve surprised the financial world today by announcing that it would continue buying roughly $85 billion worth of bonds a month. Many analysts had expected the central bank to ease off the quantitative easing gas pedal, but the committee announced that it had "decided to await more evidence that progress will be sustained." Borrowing costs have been on the rise in recent months, Bloomberg explains, and Ben Bernanke and company fear that signals a halt to growth.

The Fed's language also hinted that it was worried Congress would tighten spending further in the looming budget and debt limit showdowns, observes Sudeep Reddy at the Wall Street Journal. "Wow," he writes. "The Fed allowed market expectation to build for some kind of pullback," and its decision not to cut will boost markets in the short term. Indeed, the Dow and S&P quickly shot to record highs, CNN reports, while treasuries fell. (Read more quantitative easing stories.)

Amazing how the American public can merely sit idle and watch the elite wealthy and financiers control the banks and market for their own benefit. Great day for the 1%.

rabbit14

Sep 18, 2013 6:07 PM CDT

Longest, strongest bull market since 1940. 52 straight months of GDP growth. Every country has QE but it's not working anywhere as well as it is in the USA.

Pragmatist5

Sep 18, 2013 5:47 PM CDT

Its amazing to me that the liberal left insists on "fairness" and taxing the 1% and "spreading the wealth". Now just how do they think Obama and his regime are doing this? By printing money, giving it free to the big banks, where they dump it into the stock market and make even more money??? No wonder they're called "low information voters".